My Mirror Speaks
by Kuailong
Summary: It takes ten minutes for their lives to take such a drastic turn. Ten minutes for it all to go to pieces. They're left with the task of picking up the pieces, but they have each other. Together, maybe, they can do this.
1. Chapter 1

_She stands there, letting the wind whip by, letting the sounds of the city wrap around her. She stands on the middle of the roof, of the building long since cleared of corpses and debris. Looking down, she swears she can almost smell the gunpowder, the blood. She swears she can see the blood stains, though the rain has long since washed them away. This rooftop, she curses it, she hates it. But she can't leave. This rooftop was where her world ended. Or where it began. She's no longer sure. She scuffs a sneaker against the concrete, looking up to stare at the view. It's a nice rooftop, and she hates it. The view is pleasant, the building is the ideal height to view the world below. She wants to scream, to cry out. She wants to let the world know what this rooftop took away from her. She wants the world to know what she's lost, where the road of her life diverged so drastically. Her world isn't over, but it's different. And as she stares, stoically, at the flurry of life below, the urge to scream rises within her. She cannot stand it, staring down at the people below. They don't understand what goes on behind their cushy lives, they have no clue who and what her people lose to keep their lives simple. Free. She wants to cry out even more now, she wants to ask them if they know what has been lost. But she also knows that the person waiting for her inside, the reason why she's on this rooftop, wouldn't want that. And she has already vowed to give that person the world. She keeps her vows. She keeps her word._

_She stands there for a moment longer, staring at roof around her. If she looks hard enough, she feels like she can see the scene. It feels like it just happened, but at the same time, it feels like it happened years ago. Her mind can't make up its mind. She swears up and down she can pinpoint the place her lover fell. She can pinpoint the place where she laid out the man that shot that person. Her person. Hers. She put six or seven bullets in that man, and she doesn't regret it. She doesn't even blink when she recalls his death, because he hurt what is hers. The damage he did cannot be repaired in a few weeks. Not even months. If they come out the other side, it will take years. And yet she cannot be sad, not truly. Because that person is still alive, that person waits for her inside. That person means everything to her, and she no longer takes for granted the life they share together. Each dawn, each day, is brighter. Sharper than ever before. She turns away from the empty rooftop, no longer having the heart to hate it. The road before them is long, but she's determined. As is the person waiting inside for her. They'll get through this, together. She knows they will. _

_That moment she takes to look at the rooftop once more ends. She knows she'll never come back here, for many reasons. She knows the baggage of this place no longer belongs in her life, she no longer has a need for it. She turns away sharply, not because she's upset. She's eerily calm, calmer than she expected she would be. She only came to reconcile the past with herself, and she has done that. She walks quickly to the door, to the access she has now used twice to reach the roof. She steps inside the door, closing it behind her. Technically, the building is no longer a crime scene. Now, it's just empty. Empty save for two people. She lets her eyes adjust to the interior, standing against the door. As her eyes adjust, she walks toward her lover. _

"_Do you …" Her lover trails off and she tries not to frown. Tries not to let her concern show. That person has trouble with words these days, and she has learned not to interject or correct her. It only upsets her. So she stays quiet, and waits for the right words to come. "… regret it?" Her lover finishes and looks up at her. She shakes her head and offers her lover a small smile, crouching down to the level of the wheelchair._

"_I regret a lot of things, but no. I do not regret killing him." She says, reaching out to hold her lover's right hand. It's always the right hand that she holds now, because her lover cannot feel her left. It bothers her lover, she knows that, so she makes a conscious effort to focus on the right side. They share a quiet moment before her lover speaks again._

"_Are we finished here?" That person asks quietly and she nods in response, standing. She turns and situates herself so that she can push the wheelchair._

"_Yes, we are." She says, finding the answer holding more than one meaning. She will never come back here, and for that, she's glad. She turns the chair towards the elevator and begins walking. She has gotten the closure she wants, she's finished with the place. She has their lives ahead of them, and she has already decided she will no longer look back._


	2. Chapter 2

There's a light knock on the door-jam to her office, but she recognizes the knock. She doesn't bother to look up, because the person who had knocked is already crossing the room to her desk. Small, delicate hands reach across her desk and close her laptop, and Maria snaps her head up to face her girlfriend.

"I was working on that." She says, letting a hint of sourness seep into her tone. She knows the laptop will save her work, but she is not fond of being interrupted.

"It's five o'clock. And Wednesday. Let's go home." Natasha says, pulling herself up to sit on the edge of Maria's desk. Maria scowls, she was in the middle of that report, and she wanted to finish it before she left for the evening.

"You promised. Wednesdays are ours, baring missions or another apocalypse." Natasha reminds her gently, reaching out to snag one of Maria's hands in her own. The redhead is right, they made that promise together. Wednesdays were always set aside for dates or just time for them. She lets her scowl slowly morph into a smile. She can bring the laptop home with her, or finish the next day. Natasha senses the change and smiles widely, and Maria continues to smile back. She's lucky, she knows that. The Black Widow doesn't let many people get close to her, and Maria is the closest. She gets to see those rare, genuine smiles. They never fail to send her gut into a warm flurry. She reaches up and snags the front of Natasha's jacket, pulling the spy down to her level. Natasha lets her, and that's another sign of trust from her. Maria leans forward a little and presses their lips together, intending for a short, chaste kiss, as they are both still in the office. It is neither short nor chaste and Natasha deepens the kiss and it quickly turns into an intimate moment where hands start moving and tongues don't lay idle. She feels Natasha's hand snake up her shirt, and she's so lost in the moment that it doesn't bother her that they are doing this in her SHIELD office. They've done other, more intimate things in that office. They keep kissing until Maria has to pull away, to catch her breath and re-orient herself. Natasha gives a little hum and leans back, a smug look on her face. She doesn't remove her hand from where it rests against Maria's chest, and frankly, the brunette doesn't mind.

"Alright, home. Which car did we take this morning?" The beautiful thing about both of them being SHIELD is that they often carpool from their flat in Avenger's Tower. Maria drives a twenty-twelve Volvo s60. She doesn't get attached to cars, and her four-door before that met and untimely end with a bomb. Natasha, hilariously, gets attached to cars and still drives a two-thousand one Camaro SS. It was the first car she purchased for herself in the States, and Maria has lost count how often the internal parts have been repaired or replaced. Still, the car is in wonderful shape, and Natasha is fond of it. They both prefer standard transmissions, but Maria's car is an automatic. She's probably going to trade it in soon, she thinks. Natasha grins at Maria and holds up her keys.

"The Camaro, so I'm driving. Pack up so we can leave. I bought the rest of the groceries for tonight's dinner already, so we can head straight home." Natasha says, flipping her keys in the air and catching them. Maria chuckles and pulls out her laptop bag from under the desk. She busies herself with packing up her files and laptop while she watches Natasha out of the corner of her eyes.

"So, dinner. Is that still a surprise or do I get to know what you're cooking?" Maria asks casually, placing her laptop in the bag carefully. This time it's Natasha's turn to chuckle. If they don't go out to dinner for their Wednesdays, Natasha insists on cooking some sort of extravagant dinner. Maria, obviously, doesn't mind. Natasha is a frighteningly good cook, and while they usually split the cooking duties, Maria loves when Natasha cooks. Natasha's chuckle ends and she leans forward, a look of smug satisfaction on her face. Maria loves when she looks smug, it's a good look on the woman.

"I'll give you a hint. I snuck it in the crockpot before we left this morning. And then I stopped home earlier to throw the rest in." Natasha says, letting her tone grow smug. It's enough of a clue to know that Maria will enjoy dinner, but there hasn't been a time where she hasn't. Maria grins herself, standing. She dislodges Natasha's hand from her chest, but quickly picks the hand up in her own. They don't hide their relationship, there's no reason for them to. The no fraternization policy in SHIELD rarely applies, because of the dangerous nature of their jobs. And Maria was always an exception. With Coulson now, and Fury before him. Natasha was also an exception in of herself, when she was with Barton. Natasha curls her fingers around Maria's hand and it brings a smile to her face. It still baffles Maria how small Natasha really is, how petite and tiny her frame is. She often takes up an entire room with her presence, but Maria really feels the height difference when she stands next to her lover. Natasha slides off the desk, and together they exit the office. Maria flicks the light switch as they walk by and head together towards the parking garage.

"Anything interesting happen at the office today?" Maria asks casually, but it's her way of asking if she's going to have extra paperwork tomorrow. Because she knows Natasha and Barton when they are idle, and there's usually plenty of paperwork involved.

"Barton shot O'Riley in the ass." Natasha says with a grin. Maria has to laugh, Agent O'Riley is an asshole, and far too homophobic for Maria's tastes. The fact that both Barton and Natasha lean towards their own sexes doesn't sit right with the field agent, and Maria can't fault either of STRIKE Team Delta in harassing the man. "It was a nerf dart, though. O'Riley still flipped, tried to call Barton out on checking out his ass. He forgets that Barton's only following one ass." Natasha adds, her tone clearly full of amusement. The redhead is right, though. A well-kept SHIELD secret is that Barton and Coulson are an item, have been for years. Maria really wishes they could fire O'Riley, the man makes her skin crawl. But he's an excellent agent, even if she's positive they're going to find his corpse stuffed in an air duct one day. Really, the man must have a death wish to continuously taunt both Natasha and Barton. They finally reach Natasha's cars and the redhead pulls away to unlock both doors.


	3. Chapter 3

The ride home is a quiet affair, and that's quite fine with Maria. She finds one of the best parts of their relationship is that they can have those comfortable silences, where they just enjoy each other's company. Besides, their ride home is typically short, even including rush hour traffic in the city. She leans back in the the seat and watches the city pass by out the window. Natasha's a decent city driver, but she tends to speed when on highways and open roads. But that's alright, because Maria tends to turn corners on a dime. Neither of them are the safest drivers, but they're also not reckless. Unless you give Natasha free reign in a muscle car, Maria's only done that once with her, and frankly, the brunette is amazed she came out alive. She now refuses to go with Natasha when Tony lets her take off with one of his cars. Maria knows Natasha, knows that Natasha won't intentionally hurt herself doing such things, but she still worries until Natasha returns, usually with a wide grin on her face.

Maria turns to look at her girlfriend, her lover. A smile creeps across her face and she reaches out to lay her hand atop Natasha's, covering the stick shift with their hands. Not for the first time she finds herself grateful for the spy's role in her life, grateful that she's found someone she could not only settle down with but share her life with. Natasha turns briefly to face her and the redhead hums a happy sound. She knows Natasha is as content as she is with their shared life, despite the dangerous nature of both of their jobs.

"Let's stop by that Italian bakery, Maria." Natasha says suddenly, breaking the moment as she turns back to face the road in front of her. They're about halfway home, and the bakery is only a few blocks from their current location.

"Cannoli and tiramisu?" Maria asks. It's their usual order, four cannoli and two slices of tiramisu. Maria usually saves the tiramisu for lunch at work the next day, but Natasha has a sweet tooth like Maria never expected. Especially when it comes to Italian sweets. Natasha shakes her head.

"Let's get Cassata." She says with a grin, turning off onto the street they need to reach the bakery. Maria blinks, they don't usually get Cassata unless they're having company or really intend to treat themselves. Still, she's not opposed to the idea, it is quite delicious.

"Sounds like a good plan." Maria finds herself saying, because frankly, while she does love cannoli, Cassata is her favorite. She smiles at Natasha, knowing that tonight is going to be an excellent Wednesday. Natasha pulls up along the curb next to the bakery and unclasps her seatbelt.

"I'll go get it." The redhead says, and before Maria can protest, the smaller woman is already out of the car and closing the door behind her. Maria shakes her head, smiling again. Natasha is up to something, she can tell that much. While Natasha may be the perfect spy, Maria has gotten to the point where she can see through most of her girlfriend's facades. And Natasha has been leaving small hints, Maria has been catching them. The fact that dinner is a secret, while not completely unusual, isn't usually a big thing with their Wednesdays. And the mention of Cassata, really, was another hint. Still, there are not enough hints for her to extrapolate, but as she watches Natasha exit the bakery with a box in hand, the size of the box seals her conclusion. Something is definitely up, because Maria can tell from the box that it does not contain two individual Cassata but rather a large single one. Maria purses her lips and wonders exactly what her girlfriend is up to. Natasha slides the box into the backseat and then climbs into the front.

"I know you're up to something." Maria says, cocking her head to the side. Natasha turns and offers the most endearing and innocent face she can muster. That particular face lost its effect on Maria long before they started dating.

"Perhaps I am, you'll just have to see." Natasha says cryptically, turning the key in the ignition and pulling the car out of neutral. Maria looks down at Natasha's hand as she shifts gears and chews on her bottom lip. She's not terribly concerned with what Natasha's secret might be, if it was bad, Natasha would not have gone through the trouble she already has. Still, Maria doesn't have the slightest clue and it bothers her a little. She looks up and turns to watch the city pass by as they drive. All too soon for her to really come to any conclusions, they're pulling in the parking deck for Avenger's Tower. Maria changes her musings to pull her mind off the subject. She still wonders how she can stand living in the same building as Tony Stark, let alone the entire Avengers team. But Natasha moved with her team, and Maria followed. Not that Stark was terribly thrilled at first, but they eventually grew on one another. She waits for Natasha to finish parking the Camaro before she opens the door and steps out. Before Maria can reach the other side of the car to attempt to grab the cake first, Natasha is already there, box in hand, a smug grin on her face.

"You're just going to have to wait and see, _Птичка._" Natasha taunts, and Maria really can't be mad at Natasha for it. Besides, every time her lover uses that pet name, it causes warm flutters in her stomach. Maria can speak Russian well enough, she was passable before Natasha, but now she's fluent. She understands that the pet name means little bird, and Natasha has even explained that to her. It's a sort of homage to Maria's code name, Natasha had explained. The redhead only uses it when they are alone, not that Maria would mind if she used it around others. But she supposes Natasha wishes to keep it private, to keep it to themselves. She cannot fault her girlfriend for that. Natasha wipes the smug look from her face and smiles widely, before turning and starting the walk towards the elevator. Maria follows, quite content to walk behind Natasha.


	4. Chapter 4

It turns out dinner was one of Maria's favorites, which only causes her suspicion to grow. Pot roast, vegetables and mashed potatoes made from scratch. Natasha's cooking is always fantastic, and Maria can't help but enjoy herself when her girlfriend cooks. She leans back in her chair, surveying the table in front of her. Natasha is looking quite smug with herself as she stands up and pushes her chair back.

"Tony recommended a new butcher, I think he's on to something." Natasha said, conversationally, as she picks up her plate from the table and approaches Maria. Maria makes the motion to stand but Natasha shook her head.

"Let me." The redhead says, picking up Maria's plate as well. Maria frowns, she was hoping to find out the big reveal, but evidently dinner was not it. She sighs to herself, leaning back a little.

"Just give me a moment, stay there." Natasha calls from the kitchen, her voice raised despite this part of their flat having an open floor plan. She can see Natasha passed the island separating the kitchen from the dining room, and so she watches her lover. Natasha simply places the dishes in the sink, pulls two smaller plates out of the cupboard, and picks up the Cassata. Within moments she's back at the table, setting the plates in their proper places and gently resting the box on the table.

"So the dinner really wasn't the secret, and I already know what's in the box, what is this big secret you've been hiding from me?" Maria says, eying the Cassata box. Natasha just grins like a little shit and lifts the top off of the box to reveal an ornately designed cake. Maria just stares at it.

"You special ordered that." She accuses, because there is no way something that decorated was left sitting in the display case at the bakery. Natasha grins wider.

"You're getting impatient. It's adorable." Natasha says, picking up a knife to cut into the cake. Maria scowls and decides that's it, she's done waiting and wondering.

"Fess up, 'Tasha. What's going on?" She asks, reaching over to grab Natasha's hand gently before the redhead cuts the cake. Natasha looks at her with surprise and then shrugs.

"I was going to do it _after_ Cassata, but clearly you're too impatient. Fine, wait here." Natasha says, pulling her hand out of Maria's grasp and setting the knife down. Maria's scowl morphs into a frown as Natasha takes off toward their bedroom. Now Maria is extremely confused, and a little worried. Natasha returns moments later with one hand behind her back and Maria arches an eyebrow at her. Natasha doesn't stop at the table but instead walks right up to Maria and pauses, a small frown on her face. Maria blinks, Natasha doesn't usually hesitate, but she is now, and a small fragment of doubt settles in her gut. But Natasha's hesitation doesn't last long, and she drops down to one knee and Maria's jaw drops open. It's cliche, but Natasha pulls a small ring box from behind her back. There is no way this is actually happening, she decides. She just stares at Natasha and they sit there like that for a few moments before Natasha speaks.

"I know we've talked about it for a while now, but I think it's time. If you do. I know before I was unsure, unwilling to commit, for the obvious reasons. But really, there's no one else I'd rather share my life with. And no one else I'd be willing to make this commitment with. So, if you'll have me, will you marry me, Maria Hill?" As Natasha speaks, Maria's eyebrow arches further and she gapes at Natasha. The redhead finally reaches over and opens the ring box. The ring is, well, gorgeous. But the ring isn't what she focuses on right then. She's sitting there in pure disbelief that this is even happening. She's stunned, because they have talked about it, but Natasha always brought up issues that would arise. They've been dating a little over five years, so it's not that it's too soon. Natasha's expression morphs into concern and Maria realizes she's left the redhead hanging. There's only one way, Maria knows, to answer Natasha.

"Yes. Absolutely." She says with earnest, sliding off the chair to grab Natasha by her collar and pull her in close for a kiss. God, the kiss is in every way perfect. It reminds Maria of their first kiss, but aged, like fine wine. But it is them, and it quickly turns needy and aggressive. All too soon they're laying on the floor, hands in inappropriate places, having to pull apart just to breathe.

"You didn't have to go through all of this, 'Tash." Maria finds herself saying after a few moments, as she picks herself up off the floor. She extends her hand down to help Natasha off of the floor.

"I wanted to make it special, as corny as that sounds." Natasha says with a grin, accepting Maria's hand. They stand there a moment, and Maria swears Natasha looks different, but it's likely just her perception. Because in less than a half hour they've gone from being girlfriends to fiances and Maria couldn't be happier at the change. Silently, Natasha holds up the open ring box for Maria to look at. The ring is simple, but that's easily part of its beauty. Set in the middle is a reasonably sized black star sapphire, the white gold of the ring body coiling around it in a staged fashion. Maria finds she loves it, loves it for more than its looks. She loves what it represents, and she watches as Natasha plucks the ring out of the box and snags Maria's hand to slip the ring on her finger. Maria smiles widely at her new fiance, leaning down to kiss her again. They pull away quickly from this kiss, but Natasha snags Maria's hand again and pulls her towards the bedroom. The cake is still out, the dishes are left undone, and Maria finds she doesn't even care.


	5. Chapter 5

Maria's alarm screeches out its annoying tone and the brunette groans, reaching over Natasha's frame to hit the button. Normally, Maria is up before her alarm has a chance to sound, but they didn't do a lot of sleeping the night prior. Hell, they didn't even get to eat the Cassata, though Natasha did sneak off to put it away. Maria doesn't mind, she'll take a generous slice in to the office for lunch. Or a snack. She glances down at her fiance and smiles. Natasha's awake, she can tell, but the redhead is refusing to move from her spot curled against Maria. Natasha usually ends up being the little spoon, which Maria still finds endearing.

"I know you're awake, Nat." Maria hums, using her free hand to push the hair out of Natasha's face. Natasha scrunches up her nose and huffs out a sigh. She still doesn't open her eyes.

"Can't we call in sick?" Natasha mumbles, burying her face in Maria's chest. Maria chuckles, wrapping her arms around her redhead. Maria had already briefly considered the idea, but she knows that sooner rather than later someone would track them down.

"You know that wouldn't work. Come on, we need to shower." Maria says, pulling back a little to tweak Natasha's nose. Natasha scrunches her face up more, and Maria grins at the sheer adorable factor. Natasha groans, a sound not unlike the one Maria uttered at the alarm clock. She carefully extracts her arm from beneath Natasha, rolling over to sit up on the edge of the bed.

"Fine." Natasha grumbles, sitting up herself. "Shower together?" She asks hopefully, stretching her arms into the air before hauling herself off of the bed. Maria watches her out of the corner of her eye. Natasha's body is beautiful, and Maria includes every scar in that statement. A few of the scars Maria knows the origin of, others, she does not. They both have their scars, Maria has a fair share of her own, but Natasha has taught her to embrace them. Once her feet are on the floor, Natasha stretches again, fully nude and likely well aware that Maria is watching her. Her suspicions are confirmed when Natasha saunters over to her and reaches around to grab her behind. As much as she was expecting the motion, Maria can't help but jump a little.

"If you promise that we actually shower." Maria says, following her lover into the bathroom. The shower is easily large enough for both of them, but their shared showers tend to devolve into other activities. Natasha only chuckles, and wiggles her butt as little as she disappears into the shower. Maria sighs, shaking her head as she grabs two towels from the closet to lay over the bar for them. Natasha has already started the water, and Maria decides it won't be so bad if they run a little late today. She climbs into the shower after Natasha.

For once, their shared shower doesn't actually turn into anything more than a shower together. Minus a small amount of touching that naturally comes from a couple showering. In no time at all they're drying themselves off and heading into the bedroom to change. Maria detours to the bedside table to pick up her ring. She holds it in the light to admire it once more, marveling at the simple beauty it holds. She has little doubt that Natasha looked very carefully for the perfect ring, and she absently wonders who she asked to help her choose it. Definitely not Barton, she assumes.

"You need a ring too, Nat. And who helped with this one?" She says, and she knows she's not insulting Natasha with the question. The redhead freely admits her failings with domesticity, and carries no shame in asking for help to equalize the footing. Natasha turns to face Maria, clasping a bra behind her back.

"What would I do with an engagement ring, Maria? When the time comes, I'll keep the wedding ring on a chain around my neck. But I have no need for an engagement ring, you're the one with the cushy desk job. And Pepper helped. She helped a lot, actually. Also she insisted she help with the wedding." Natasha says, chuckling at the last sentence as she turns to grab a shirt from her closet. Maria is glad Stark re-designed this place when he found out Maria came with Natasha. Both of them have their own walk-in closets, and while Maria thought it was slightly obscene at first, she actually enjoys the versatility it offers them. It doesn't bother Maria that Pepper wants to help, she knows the woman well, and always welcomes Pepper's assistance.

"If you're sure." Maria says, finally slipping the ring on her finger and heading towards her own closet. She has no doubt people will notice the ring, but the majority of the people who do will figure it out fast enough. Those who don't likely won't have to gall to ask her about it. She snags underwear and her uniform from her closet, turning to watch Natasha. While Natasha has a uniform, she only wears it for operations, her usual SHIELD attire tends to be SHIELD t-shirts and jeans. Fury tried to argue with her once, attempting to get her into at least dress clothes. He lost that argument, and gave up enforcing it when it came to either Natasha or Barton. Maria dresses, letting her eyes linger on Natasha for a while longer. Once fully clothes, Natasha strolls up to Maria and pulls her down to the redhead's level for a kiss. Maria forces herself to not let them get too distracted, and they pull away shortly after.

While neither of them tend to be breakfast people, they know the importance of eating in the morning. So breakfast tends to be coffee or tea and toast or English muffins. Because it is Avengers' Tower, the coffee and tea makers have their own AIs, and as they enter the kitchen, both are ready. Maria prefers her coffee black and strong, while Natasha tends to drink either a black or mate tea in the morning. This morning the kitchen smells like roses, and she turns to raise an eyebrow at Natasha.

"White rose. I thought I'd switch it up." Natasha says with a shrug, pulling her large cup from beneath the maker. If Natasha sweetens her teas, it's typically with honey, but this morning Natasha just drinks it straight. Maria grabs her cup of coffee and pops two English muffins in the toaster. They eat without much fuss, and as they head out, Maria snags her laptop bag.


	6. Chapter 6

Their ride into work is quiet and relaxing, for the most part. They elected to take Maria's car, and as such, Maria drives. Natasha prefers to avoid driving the automatic, and Maria doesn't press the issue. But Maria still hates the city traffic, especially during morning rush hour. It's not too bad this time, but Maria still has to pry her fingers from the steering wheel when she pulls into her designated space in the parking deck. Before she gets out of the car, Natasha reaches over and drops two Tupperware containers in the brunette's lap. Maria blinks before she realizes what they are. Leftovers and Cassata from dinner, she won't have to eat the mess hall food. It had completely slipped her mind, she realizes, to think about lunch. She turns to her fiance and Natasha grins, holding up her own two containers. She smiles at the redhead, and places both containers in her bag. They both exit the car at the same time, and Maria locks it before shouldering her bag.

"Going to harass Barton?" Maria asks as Natasha wraps her hand around the brunette's. Natasha chuckles and flashes her lover a smile.

"Yeah, I don't have a lot of paperwork to do. Unless something comes up, I think he and I are just going to dick around." Natasha says, starting to swing their connected hands. Maria chuckles softly as they exit the parking garage and enter SHIELD HQ proper. The front receptionist raises a hand and waves at them as they walk by.

"Stewarts' owes me two hundred, thanks!" Tricia calls after them, and Natasha stops for a moment and starts laughing when they reach the hallway. It takes Maria a moment to realize what the words meant and she starts laughing with Natasha. Even the receptionist is an agent, so Maria is not surprised that she noticed the ring. Of course SHIELD would have a betting pool on their engagement, it really shouldn't surprise her.

"I wonder just how much she's going to collect." Natasha says after she's finished laughing. Maria shakes her head and chuckles.

"I'd expect quite a bit." Maria says, turning to look back at the lobby. She absently wonders how the betting was set up, and who organized it.

"I suspect Clint had a hand in it." Natasha says after a moment, starting to walk down the highway. Maria decides that, yes, Barton probably did have a hand in it. But she's not upset, she's actually quite amused. These things happen at SHIELD, and Maria doesn't have the heart to stop them. Harmless respites from the nature of their jobs, Maria cannot fault them for it. Maria starts walking herself, catching up to her lover. They come to the first corridor, and Natasha turns and attempts to give Maria a quick kiss. Maria lets her hand snake around Natasha and deepens the kiss, turning the quick moment into a slightly longer one. Natasha pulls away first and smirks at Maria before turning and walking down the hallway.

Maria heads for the lounge to put her lunch in the fridge. She's still marveling at the night before, and the ring on her finger. A few people she passes notice the ring, but don't say anything, she lets them be. It's not long before she's at the lounge and she places her lunch in the fridge, stacking the containers in the back corner. She straightens and closes the refrigerator door before turning to head out of the lounge. Maria feels like the day is going to drag on, because she'd rather be spending it with Natasha. For once she'd rather be home than at SHIELD, but she knows her responsibilities and obligations, so she heads for her office. She'll finish the paperwork from yesterday, and she never doubts there will be more work for her when she finishes her current load. As she enters her office, she flicks the light on and sits down. She takes another moment to admire her ring, the weight of it on her finger has constantly registered in the back of her mind since she put it on. She supposes she'll get used to it, but she doesn't mind the weight. It means wonderful things. She's pulling her laptop out of the bag when there's a knock against the door-jam. She glances up to find Coulson standing at her door.

"We have a situation. Conference room B." He says before turning sharply and heading in the direction of said conference room. Maria's interest is definitely piked, Coulson isn't usually so abrupt. She doesn't even bother pulling her laptop out, she leaves it in the bag and stands. She starts heading for conference room B, walking quickly.


	7. Chapter 7

As Maria heads towards the designated conference room, she catches glimpses of agents of various levels scattering about. Mobilizing. Since the fall of the SHIELD before their current incarnation, their force has been small. But elite. She catches glimpses of agents suiting up as she passes equipment rooms. It looks to her like the majority of their small force is definitely mobilizing, and it causes her to wonder just what is going on. The building they currently call HQ is small, and within minutes she reaches the conference room. The door is closed, but it doesn't bother her. Coulson wants her in there, so in she will go. She opens the door to find Coulson in there. What surprises her is that there is also Agents Skye, Triplett, Barton, May and Natasha. If the activity she passed hadn't clued her in that something was wrong, the gathering of their current top agents not on missions located in one room would. She seats herself in her usual position, on Coulson's right side, despite the director standing at the head of the table. Natasha glances at her for a moment, letting confusion flit briefly across the redhead's face before she schools it into neutrality and turns to face their director. She, well, they all, wait for him to speak, but Maria can tell he's trying to gather his words to phrase them just right.

"We have a situation." He starts and Maria almost cracks a smile at how similar he sounds to Fury. He looks taken aback for a moment before collecting himself again, and she's sure he caught it too.

"An entire office building has been taken hostage by a group calling themselves the Network. We received a call for help from one of the employees through email, the group themselves have not made any demands. They were in place when the building opened for the morning, most of the staff inside have been taken hostage." He continues, flicking his wrist so that the data that has been gathered rises up onto the screen behind him.

"We have most of the teams mobilizing, this is going to be our largest operation since the fall. We must do this right, no casualties. Civilian or our own." Coulson adds and the rest of the room nods in response to his words. Skye clears her throat, and Maria turns to the young agent with the rest of the room.

"These Network people aren't usually this militarized. Someone is funding them. They're usually peaceful protesters, something has changed. I've tried digging, and I can't find anything. It's super suspicious." She says, and not for the first time Maria is impressed with Coulson's young agent. Coulson nods at her words.

"Exactly. Which is why we're breaking this into teams. Romanoff, I want you with Hill. You two go in, scope the situation out. We'll only move in on your word. You'll have a small team of agents with you, feel free to hand-pick them. Barton, I need you in the next high-rise with our snipers, watching from afar. You'll only move if Hill and Romanoff give the word or something goes wrong. May, Triplett, you're in command of the back-up. Skye, I want you on the ground, figuring out just what made a group of peaceful protesters take up arms and take hostages. We need to do this quickly and quietly." Coulson turns to bring up further information on the screen.

"There are two-hundred and sixty-seven hostages, they're being kept between the thirty-second and thirty-seventh floors. We don't have an exact number on the attackers, but we estimate there are about seventy-five of them. From what little information we have, they are armed with semi-automatics and explosives. We've been unable to determine the actual specifics. The building itself is forty floors, with a roof access. They've locked off the elevators, and seem to be guarding the stairwells. Your best bet is the elevator shaft." With another swipe of his hand, blueprints of the building in question fly up on the screen. Maria studies it, and she knows the others are doing it as well.

"Go suit up, we'll stagger the mobile units and place them around the building so we don't arouse suspicion. Hill, Romanoff, pick your team and have them meet in the garage, you'll be taking the first unmarked vehicle." Coulson finishes, and before he has even turned to face them, most of them are on their feet and heading for the door. Maria is a little puzzled that she's been paired with Natasha, Coulson tends to keep both of them separate. But she knows he has his reasons, and recon tends to be both of their specialties. She waits behind for Natasha, and they leave the room together.

"I want Fredricks, Liesen, Keller and Jordan with us." Natasha says, leading them both in the direction of their particular equipment room. Maria nods, it's a good list.

"Add Rueller and Karlowe." Maria says, sweeping into their locker room and heading for hers.

"Sounds good." Natasha calls from the other end of the room, and Maria can hear her fiance shuffling to get dressed. Maria is doing the same, shedding her civilian clothing and getting dressed in her tactical suit. Also kept in her locker are her weapons, and she arms herself after she finishes dressing. She moves to wait by the door, double-checking her fire-arms. Natasha takes longer, simply because she carries more weapons on her person. Maria tends to only carry two guns, ammo and a few knives. Natasha's arsenal is legendary, not that Maria minds. It keeps her fiance safer, and Natasha does plenty more field work than Maria. Still, it doesn't take Natasha long to meet Maria by the door.

"Let's go collect our team." Natasha says, and Maria wishes they could hold hands at that moment. But Natasha is all business, and Maria tends to be as well. They head out together, to track down their team and lead the group to the parking garage.


End file.
